The present invention generally relates to an emergency shower with an improved valve actuation mechanism. More specifically, the present invention relates to an emergency shower having a linkage activation system for pivoting a ball valve between closed and open positions in response to pivoting the shower head from a generally vertical non-use position to a generally horizontal deployed position, and wherein the shower head disconnects from a wall clip to remain in the general horizontal deployed position after activation.
As part of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the United States government formed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) to create and adopt standards and regulations for maintaining safe workplace conditions. In this respect, OSHA has, over the years, adopted regulations that require the use of wash stations (e.g., emergency eyewash and/or emergency shower stations) so workers can quickly wash and otherwise rinse away harmful or hazardous chemicals, especially in an emergency. Such wash stations may include an overhead shower unit for delivering a generally continuous stream of water from overhead and/or a lower eyewash unit for flushing contaminants from the eyes. Such equipment may be installed along walls, hallways, or corridors, may be free standing or connected adjacent to a wall, and are preferably coupled to a mains water supply. Preferably, the emergency wash stations are placed near contaminants or hazards (e.g., just inside a laboratory) and away from other obstructions that may prevent or obstruct immediate access to the wash station.
Emergency showers known in the art may be activated by pulling down on a hanging cord that couples with, e.g., a lever in rotatable relation with a valve that moves between open and closed positions with movement of the lever. These products typically require full downward displacement of the hanging cord to fully open the valve. Other designs may partially open the valve with partial downward displacement of the hanging cord. Consequently, in these designs, the flow rate may be undesirably low. Preferably, the emergency shower valve is opened all the way to continuously emit at least around 20-60 gallons (75-230 liters) per minute for at least 15 minutes to ensure the user has plenty of time to rinse any harmful contaminants. If the user releases the hanging cord before full extension, the showerhead may release a less than desirable quantity of water. This may be particularly undesirable in the event the user needs to immediately and continuously use both hands to properly use the wash station, for example to open their eyes for proper flushing. If the showerhead valve does not fully open, the user would need to again find and pull the cord downwardly to more fully open the overhead flow of water dispensing from the showerhead. The obvious drawback is that the user must successfully fully open the cord connected to the lever arm to activate the maximum and desired flow of water from the shower head.
There exists, therefore, a significant need in the art for an emergency shower that includes an improved valve actuation mechanism including a linkage system coupling pivoting movement of the shower head arm to activation of water flow by way of a ball valve, wherein initial release of the shower head results in continuous and full water flow and maintains the shower head in the full deployed position without continued displacement of the downwardly hanging pull cord. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.